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Cover story

You can get a great cover like this custom Laura LaRoche cover for your book, but it takes a little homework.

Editors Note: Let’s say I’m a new author, just finishing up my first book and I need a good cover. But I don’t know any artists, or photographers, and have no such skills myself.

What do I do?

That’s the question I posed to book-cover artist and fellow author Laura LaRoche. I’ve read plenty of blog posts telling me how important a good cover is for your book — here’s solid advice from Laura on how to get one.

Research!

Start with asking other authors who they would recommend. Then search for the kind of cover design that fits your book. There are so many different talents out there creating covers that research is the best and most informative way to find the designer best suited to the author.

What kind of design is needed? Laura creates photo manipulations like the cover shown here.

Common questions to ask before hiring a cover designer
1. What kind of cover is needed?
Is your book paranormal, fantasy, thriller, Christian? Ask designers if they are familiar with the genre needed.

2. What kind of design is needed?
Illustrated, photo manipulation, electronic graphics? Ask what kind of art the designers offer, and if it is right for your book.

3. What’s the price range?
Ask what the base cost is and if there are any other costs involved in the process.

4. Do they offer e-book and print?
Ask this question if you think you might need a print cover, either when you order or in the future. Not all designers offer both. Or they may not be able to make covers compatible with some print publishers. So be sure to mention which print site you have chosen.

Other cover-issues indie authors may wonder aboutHow do I identify and choose a reputable service? What’s a fair price? How
does the procedure work? Should I expect the cover artists to read my book
so they know how to represent it graphically? If not, how do they know?

To find a reputable service simply look at the cover designers’ web sites and see if they have testimonials to back up their work. Double check authors’ names on the designers’ sites with authors’ book sites.

Research for finding a reputable cover artist includes checking designer and author websites, Laura says.

How many covers do you see on the designer’s site? That’s important for checking experience. Then e-mail and ask for references, or look at their cover designs and directly ask any author listed in their galleries.

I find most authors don’t mind direct questions, and they are usually eager to share their experience about the designer they used.

The procedure is fairly easy. After an author contacts me, I reply with all needed info on what I can design and offer, the cost, how to pay, and turnaround time. Once I get started, I will send a cover design to the author for approval or changes. Once all is done and the author is happy, I supply a royalty-free cover license for the image.

That’s it, all done.

Pricing is difficult to estimate. It depends on what kind of service and detail work is needed. Illustrated covers tend to be the most expensive because of the nature of the art and time. Keeping that in mind, I believe a good price range for custom e-book covers is $25-$75. I know that’s a big gap in price, but authors’ needs will determine if they should buy on the low or high side of the spectrum.

I’m not sure if other cover designers take the time to read the book they’re covering. In my opinion, they don’t need to read it. I don’t, and it’s not because I wouldn’t love to. It’s because I wouldn’t have time to design multiple covers a week if I took the time to read each book. My backlog would be a year long.

So to answer the next question, how do designers know what to create if they don’t read the book?

Cover artists don’t usually have time to read the books they illustrate, says Laura. Instead, they rely on authors to supply pertinent information.

Again, I suppose each designer has a unique way. I ask authors to provide whatever they feel is important to the book and cover, including

-Synopsis
-Genre
-If it is a series
-What color scheme they like
-Do they have a website where I can read and learn about the author
-Reviews

So many things can influence the design.

Laura, as a cover artist, what have been some of your favorite or most challenging projects? Have you ever found it hard to come up with a cover for a particular book? What was your favorite cover experience?

I’ll start with challenging projects. I’ll finish with favorites. I have a few authors who pose challenges for me by giving me little info with which to work. (They know who they are! Grin).

Though I will expose two of them now with some examples of their designs.

First, there’s Zoe Saadia, who likes to ask with a giggle if I’m ready for a challenge.

Ed. note ~ By a curious coincidence, I just reviewed this book at Honest Indie Book Reviews.

When she approached me for her first cover design she was hesitant, but that faded quickly as I worked with her. She had an idea of the style she wanted, but no clue about how to portray it.

After several questions and a couple of changes, I created the first in her “The Rise of the Aztecs” series, The Highlander.

Needless to say, I’ve went on to finish this series and seven others for her. I love when she pounces on me with an idea, and she is a joy to work with. If you would like to check out her writing, here is her Amazon Author page.

Next author and definitely one of the most challenging is Robin Nadler.

Wow! That’s what I can say about her and her writing. She is one of the fastest writers I’ve met. She is so talented and challenging when it comes to her covers. When Robin asked me to design a cover for a series, I had no idea how many she would need. I gave some thought to how and what to create to make her series look unique.

Laura has covered all 12 books in Robin Nadler’s 12-book “Family by Choice” series, starting with this one.

After some sample exchanges and a few changes, we had the look of what started out as one book, and is now 12; a series titled “Family by Choice.”

I’ve also created other covers and book trailers for her. If you would like to know more about Robin, her website is nadlersnovels.com.

While I do have other authors I would love to feature, I believe this will give most authors a chance to look at the different style and approach to making a series. I’ll include some other covers from different authors for a broader look at designs.

Okay, on to the next question — have I ever found it difficult to create a book cover for a book?

Yes, there have been times when it took several attempts to get it right. There have also been times when I offered refunds and pointed them in other directions for cover help.

Those occurred after we started, then realized they needed an illustrated cover, not a photo-manipulated cover which is what I offer.

Do I have a favorite book cover I’ve created?

I have deep admiration for each author I’ve covered. Each work is as unique as the author. I can’t pick a favorite. Each cover tells the story of all the author’s hard work inside, with the hope and expectation that the design will make readers want to pick it up.

I hope I’ve been of some help on how to choose a cover designer.

In a world of words anything is possible. ~ Laura Wright LaRoche

About Laura

Laura Wright LaRoche

I am a bookcover designer working with both traditional publishing companies and freelance authors. I love creating “one-of-a-kind” cover designs for authors. Being a published author myself, I know the difference good covers can make.

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One thought on “Cover story”

This was a great post. So much information. I’m bookmarking it for the future! I’m always in awe of cover designers, and I truly respect their work. After all, that’s the first thing to catch a reader’s eye.